Investigators rule out plot to endanger musician, attribute collision to rash driving
Investigators rule out plot to endanger musician, attribute collision to rash driving
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court found no foul play in the 2018 motor accident death of violinist Balabhaskar. CBI judge R. Rekha ruled out the family’s demand for a further investigation. Back-to-back investigations by the Crime Branch and later the CBI found that Balabhaskar’s driver Arjun was at the wheel when the accident occurred on September 25, 2018.
Balabhaskar, his wife Lakshmi, and their two-year-old daughter had driven non-stop from Thrissur to reach Thiruvananthapuram. The accident occurred at the fag end of the ill-fated journey at Pallipuram on the capital’s outskirts.
A crash scene investigation revealed that the car had veered to the extreme right of the carriageway and dashed against a hard-wood avenue tree. The vehicle was mangled almost beyond recognition. Balabhaskar’s two-year-old daughter Tejaswini Bala died on the spot. He died at a hospital a few days later. Balabhaskar’s wife Lakshmi and Arjun were seriously injured in the crash.
Both agencies concluded that rash and negligent driving had caused the accident. They surmised that the driver must have nodded off. They ruled out any plot to harm Balabhaskar. The CBI concluded that Balabhaskar was on the front passenger seat with his daughter. The CBI also found the driver had attempted to dodge blame by falsely stating that Balabhaskar was at the wheel at the time of the collision.
Above speed limit
Fingerprints and serological evidence lifted from the crime scene proved Arjun wrong. Investigators found the car was travelling well above the legal speed limit. They also doubted whether the passengers were belted and if the safety mechanisms, including the airbags, had deployed belatedly. The CBI waded through a morass of claims, counter-claims, accusations and conspiracy theories to reach its conclusion. The agency’s investigation unfolded against a deafening and often raucous media debate on the famous musician and youth icon’s untimely death. The CBI also opened a new line of inquiry after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested two of Balabhaskar’s associates on gold smuggling charges.
The agency also found that a television actor had ‘infused’ the accident with conspiracy theories. He ‘misled’ investigators, and the actor’s averments caused public scepticism about the CBI inquiry. Subsequently, the CBI booked the actor under Sections 182 and 193 of the IPC for giving false information to the police, adducing fake evidence and fabricating proof. Balabhaskar’s family said they would appeal the CBI court’s decision.
